Hat-trick hero joy at Spanish shutout

Back row ace Matt Cox grabbed a stunning second half hat-trick to sink Olympus Rugby XV Madrid at soggy Sixways - but admitted he was just as happy to keep the Spaniards from scoring at the other end.

Cox was left smiling to from ear to ear after grabbing a tremendous treble, including one long range stunner, as Warriors stormed to a convincing 54-3 win on home soil.

But the Warriors Academy product was also left smiling that Madrid failed to breach the home line after revealing his disappointment from the corresponding fixture in the Spanish capital in October.

"I'm happy to win and happy to get on the scoreboard a few times, it was an enjoyable game," said Cox.

"I had some banter with Jake (Abbott) about scoring tries and it was great for the team to get some tries.

"We managed to keep the screw on them and then, in the second half, we tightened it and gaps started to open up.

"The big message, though, this week was a no try mentality. It doesn't matter what the score was or how many we got, it was all about no tries for me.

"We let them have a try when we were over in Spain and the coaches were not very happy as we made a few silly mistakes. We made sure it didn't happen this time we met them.

"Now I'm just keen to get out and play Montpellier because I want to cement my place in the team. It's about backing it up, France is not going to be the prettiest trip, it's a long journey, and we need to go there and perform well."